Borders by Henry Naylor

Borders tells two novel stories based in the fight against intolerance of the Syrian refugee crisis.

Farah's story, performed by Avital Lvova from Naylor's Angels, embeds the power of creativity in peaceful rebellion. We follow Farah in Syria as her art becomes a pillar of hope for those downtrodden by Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Tellingly, the more original story is closer to home. Graham O'Mara plays Sebastian, a photojournalist who toes the lines between artistic and journalistic integrity and his search for success. Sebastian is forced to battle visibility of the issues with superficial means of achieving a burgeoning career.

It spans over a time across the al-Assad presidency in Syria from early noughties to around today. It's more haunting than nostalgic to hear, as a 23-year old, what was important for much of the UK before controversies in Syria began to swell around the world. This is wittily told using the career trajectory of Daniel Bedingfield.

In ways too numerous to describe entirely, it poignantly finds two gaps in the narratives surrounding instability in the Middle East by, firstly, putting under the microscope Western attitudes towards it. Secondly, it combats the attitude that the instability gave displaced innocents from the Middle East the excuse to escape to Europe in order, at least in part, to secure a better way of life than they'd ever have had.

Borders boldly encourages its audience to look at elitism over refugees and offers a theory behind our reticence to get involved past social media.

Author

Bhavesh Jadva
Voice Team

Media Editor and former Arts Award Editor. As Voice's Media Editor, his writing on Voice is geared towards film, TV, photography, and music. Other than media and music he takes a crack at writing about comedy. Also believe Liam should've won GBBO 2017.